Jackson Merrill is not ready to let the Padres’ season slip away without a fight.
San Diego has stumbled badly over the last few weeks, dropping nine of its last 11 games as the club’s early-July collapse has deepened. The slide has left the Padres 14 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and 4.5 games out of the final wild-card spot.
Even with the losses piling up, Merrill wanted fans to know the clubhouse is not folding.
"Yeah, I mean we're frustrated too. Can't take away from your frustration, but I promise we are doing all we can here to get these wins," Merrill said.
"Like I said, just have faith in us. It's baseball; you never know when s--- can go the other way, so we could heat up here really soon."
That message comes at a time when belief around the Padres has thinned out fast. After a strong start, the season has unraveled, and the team’s flaws have become impossible to hide.
The offense has been a major problem. San Diego sits last in team batting average at .224 and OPS at .671, and it ranks second to last in slugging percentage at .371.
Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. have both had rough stretches, though in different ways. The pair has usually driven the Padres in past seasons, but that hasn’t been the case this year. Tatis has managed only five home runs, while Machado has shown some power but is still hitting under the Mendoza line.
The starting rotation has been just as shaky. The Padres entered the year with questions there, and those concerns have only grown louder. Injuries have hit multiple pitchers, and the arms still available haven’t found much consistency.
The bullpen has held things together better than the rest of the staff, but the workload has started to wear on the relief corps. San Diego’s front office is expected to try to patch the roster at the trade deadline, though there may be limits to what can be fixed.
For now, the Padres are stuck in a season that has gone sideways. There is still time to turn it around, but if they want any shot at the postseason, the turnaround has to start soon.
In Other News...
Padres Depth Shakeup Could Be Just The Start Of More Moves
The Padres minor league depth chart got a noticeable reset this week, with a cluster of moves that touched multiple levels of the system. Kannon Kemp was reinstated from the injured list, Johan Moreno moved up to Triple-A, and left-handers Ryan Och and Jamie Hitt both advanced to Double-A, giving San Diego a clearer look at some arms it wants to keep moving.
Jos Leclerc is also working his way back from shoulder surgery, and his return could force another round of decisions as the organization sorts out roles and innings across the system. With the draft signing deadline approaching, the Padres may not be done churning the bottom of the roster, and these moves feel like the first part of a larger shuffle rather than the last. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Could Finally Make The Deadline Move Their Lineup Desperately Needs
As the trade deadline approaches, the Padres are still searching for a lineup upgrade that can change the feel of their offense, and one name from a division rival has started to surface in the conversation. The fit is obvious on paper: a productive outfielder in his prime, the kind of bat San Diego has been trying to add, and a player the front office has already evaluated closely in the recent past.
The complication is just as obvious. Dealing within the NL West is never simple, especially when the target is coming off a strong season and comes with years of team control still attached. ESPNs Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan have both suggested there is at least a real chance this gets done before the deadline, but for the Padres the harder part may be turning interest into something the Giants would actually accept. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Could Face A Brutal Deadline Call On Reliable Starter
The Padres are still shopping for rotation help as the deadline approaches, and the need is easy to understand. Injuries have thinned the staff and the depth behind the front end has not offered much cushion, so San Diego is casting a wide net for a starter who can take the ball regularly and steady things over the stretch run.
One name that has surfaced is Michael Wacha, a familiar arm with a track record of giving a club dependable innings and a contract that runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. Any move of that sort would come down to price as much as fit, especially with San Diego trying to balance urgency against the cost of adding another established starter. [Read more 🡒]